“I’m ok on video if someone’s asking me questions, but if I’m there by myself I don’t know what to say!”
Someone told me this recently after I’d complimented her on her video performance. You may have felt it too. It’s common to business owners who don’t have a lot of experience on video. They are confident speaking in person, or in a blog post—they may even find it mildly exhilarating to be interviewed by someone on video—but to be there, alone, staring at that camera lens is a different story.
It’s a completely different experience because there is no one there asking you questions, having a conversation with you. There is no one there that you can see—until you learn to see them.
Video is a mind game (that requires imagination)
Becoming confident on video when it’s just you and the camera is a mind game because you have to convince yourself, you have to know, that you’re not alone.
Not “not alone” in the sense that it’s you by yourself faced with multitudes of unseen viewers who are finding fault with your performance, with how you look, with what you are saying. They’re throwing virtual tomatoes at the screen and it’s … terrifying! (not to mention messy)
No. “Not alone” in the sense that there is something more intimate going on: it’s just you and your viewer. One person is watching you speak, talking in what you say, and you’re looking right at them. It’s as though you’re a horse with blinders on. You can’t see anything to either side of your face, all you can see is that other person in front of you. Or, imagine that camera lens as the opening to a tunnel that connects you at one open end, and your viewer at the other open end. Intimate. One human being to another. That’s the person you’re conversing with, the one you’re talking to.
Your viewer would be your best friend if they weren’t your client. They love hearing from you, they value the advice you give them, they believe in your products and services. They recommend you wholeheartedly every chance they get. You love talking to them too.
You need to see them, really see them, know that they’re there and then speak only to them.
The magic of video is that once you can do this, you’ll end up attracting more clients just like them. That’s the power video has to transform your business once you conquer the mind game.
Video is a practical game (that requires content)
So, you’ve got your lovely blinders on and it’s just you and that wonderful client, but you’re thinking, “I still don’t know what to say!”
You do, because you know them. What issues do they have? What things do you help them with?
Remember, you’re not going to regurgitate the same content they could find in any old Google search. You’re going to dig deeper. You are going to give them insights and advice based on your deep knowledge of them, and in your own inimitable style. In your voice. In your words. Based on your lived experience. Just like you’d do over the phone or in person, but this time you’ll do it looking into that camera lens.
Listen more, talk less
You’ve probably already learned that when it comes to creating content on a regular basis, you have to be a perceptive listener. One of the truisms from my background of journalism is that the best interviewers are the best listeners, not the best talkers. Like a good journalist you notice the smallest throwaway comments your clients make. You also listen to the silences between their words. You listen to what they don’t say. And you know that these instances often reveal a need your client may not realize they have. A need that if you answered it would have a positive ripple effect on other aspects of their life or business.
This need that has revealed itself must be met with a unique and valuable insight or tip that only you can provide. Because you know your client intimately. Because you listen and you act. This will give you not only something to ‘say’ that’s meaningful to your clients, but also unique and valuable content your viewers can’t get anywhere else. Content that will help you stand out from your competition, perhaps even help you become someone in demand for your uncommon knowledge.
Where to dig for content
Think back. What have your clients said to you recently that really popped for you? What have you discovered from reading between the lines in their conversations with you? Did you write it down? If not, try to recall the gist of some of your recent interactions. What new programs or services are you in the midst of creating from which you could pull a nugget to build a short video around? Review your clients’ testimonials. What issues have they said you helped them with? Send a survey to your favourite clients to dig a little deeper on some of their common challenges. From those rich sources, you’ll find something to say on video, with your unique insight, and in your particular voice and style.
If you’d like some help with how to say it, or how to see your best client through that camera lens, or anything else that would help you be more comfortable on video and connect human to human with your viewer, I’m here. Let’s talk.